Here are the top free online environmental courses with certificates to polish and upgrade your knowledge in environmental science. Those going into college for the first time to study environmental science can enroll in the courses to test the waters.
With the world going digital and the various restrictions and limitations to face-to-face learning, it’s necessary that we consider these so we can help improve ourselves.
Online courses are courses that avail a learner the opportunity to receive learning from their locations. Students studying online courses have the lectures fixed in ways that don’t disturb their daily activities.
Most of them are self-paced so one could go through it when he has the time. Online courses help you gain added skills as the course is underway.
Online courses help bring information to the fore by making it available to every person as long as they can access a computer device. While some of these online courses are paid for, most of them are free.
Free online environmental courses help motivate people to educate themselves about the environment and what the latest development is. Who wouldn’t like what is free not to talk of when it has a certificate attached which is to be received after learning?
Many have this notion that free things don’t amount to much, not when you are doing one of the free online environmental courses with certificates
Bagging a certificate after an online course gives you an edge in the labour market and makes any employer looking forward to hiring you that you have a capability of expanding your knowledge independently.
There are various aspects of the environment with courses covering those areas. With this, you could imagine the extent to which environmental courses cover not to talk of the various fields under an environment that are coming up.
The world is getting more and more interested in the environment with consequences of the various impacts we have caused.
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How to Find Free Online Environmental Courses
With the world at our hands through the internet, there are many ways in which one could find free online environmental courses with certificates.
One of the ways of finding free online environmental courses is to simply browse “free online environmental course”. Here you will be given different write-ups about free online environmental courses with certificates including different free online environmental courses, sites where you could get them, and a link that would take you directly to the course.
Some of these courses don’t have certificates because it’s just for educational purposes not for academia. So, you would have to preview them properly before enrolling in the course.
Another way of finding free online environmental courses is to visit the massive open online courseware of different universities in search of free online environmental courses. You will be shown environmental courses.
Some may be paid while some may be free but, these free online environmental courses don’t usually have certificates because they are majorly for educational purposes and not for academia, by perusing through, you will find free online environmental courses with certificates.
Free environmental courses with certificates have no prerequisites and are displayed for majorly educational purposes that’s why most of them don’t have certificates.
Another way of finding free online environmental courses with certificates is to search them different online learning platforms. Online learning platforms are platforms majorly applications that avails one the opportunity of engaging in online distance learning.
Some of these platforms include Coursera, EDX, Alison, iClass Central. Also, there are platforms under the United Nations which allow learners to educate themselves about education.
Some of these platforms include United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC: Learning), FAO Learning Academy, etc. One could also enroll in free online environmental courses with certificates from online universities, for example, the University of the People (UoPeople.edu).
Having known this, let’s look at how to apply for free online environmental courses with a certificate.
How to Apply for Free Online Environmental Courses with Certificates.
As earlier said, there is no prerequisite for enrolling in free online environmental courses with certificates. All you need to do is enroll. If you sourced free online environmental courses with certificates from websites of universities that do online distance learning then, you don’t in the school but just enrolling the massive open courseware.
If you are applying through a learning platform then you create an account with the platform before you enroll on the free online environmental courses with certificates. You can also apply for paid environmental courses only on the Coursera platform and do them for free with a certificate.
What you would have to do is to apply for financial aid which would be approved after 15 days. But, before your application is approved you can run the course.
Now let’s look at the top free online environmental courses with certificates
Top 5 Free Online Environmental Courses with Certificates
They are numerous free online courses with certificates in many online learning platforms but here are the top free online environmental courses.
- Climate Change: From Learning to Action
- Integrating Climate Risk Information into NAPs
- Introduction to Green Economy
- How to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
- Introduction to Air Quality Management
1. Climate Change: From Learning to Action
With the world increasingly interested in climate change, people must be educated on the climate change subject and are exposed to with can be done to reduce climate Schaffner and its impact.
The course exposes to you the concept of climate change, how it affects you and others, and what can be done to address it. The course is handled by 6 tutors. After completing the course, learners would be able to answer the following:
- What is climate change?
- How do we adapt to the negative impacts of climate change?
- What opportunities exist for a low carbon future?
- How do we plan and finance climate actions?
- How do climate negotiations work?
Participants will also develop a concrete action plan or project to tackle climate change!
Course Content
- Module 1: What is climate change and how does it affect us?
- Module 2: How to adapt to climate change?
- Module 3: How to mitigate climate change?
- Module 4: How to plan and finance action on climate change?
- Module 5: How do climate change negotiations work?
- Module 6: How to tackle climate change in practice?
Each module can be completed in two hours and they feature videos, lessons, and exercises showing you the different aspects of climate change.
To earn the certificate, you would need to have a passing grade of 70% or more from the quizzes. You have only 5 attempts per quiz.
Once you have completed and have passed the quizzes, your Certificate will become automatically available to download under the tap “Certification” on the main course page.
2. Integrating Climate Risk Information into NAPs
The course Integrating Climate Risk Information into NAPs teaches learners how to strengthen National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) through appropriate climate information and coordinated policy action, with the enablement of different types of institutions and actors to work together in a collaborative framework, using resources of the global hydro-meteorological community.
Learners through this course would be able to;
- Describe the importance of climate information in adaptation planning and decision-making
- Identify technical resources for assessing climate risks
- Explore the role of National Hydro-meteorological Services in the NAP process
- Discuss how priority climate actions can be enhanced by climate scientific information
- Identify climate products and services that support NAPs
- Discuss how to promote effective partnerships between climate information producers and users
Course Content
The course is designed to respond to the learning needs of both climate services providers (National Hydro-meteorological Services, research/academic and international organizations), and users (e.g. decision-makers, private investors, non-governmental organizations, etc.), as well as of those working at the science-policy interface for outreach or communication purposes.
The training is in modules and learners are given the liberty to choose and combine different thematic modules. There are two main themes or learning tracks available in this course:
- Learning track 1 (green-colored): Producing climate information for NAPs
- Learning track 2 (yellow-coloured): Using climate information for NAPs
Both learning tracks have in common the Intro and Wrap-up modules.
Once you have completed the Intro module, you are directed to take a baseline test, and based on your answers to the five questions of the test you will be advised to follow either learning track 1 or 2, or both.
To earn the certificate, you would need to have a passing grade of 70% or more from the quizzes. You will receive two certificates if you follow the two learning tracks and pass the quizzes with not less than 70%.
Once you have completed and have passed the quizzes, your Certificate will become automatically available to download under the tap “Certification” on the main course page.
To apply for this course, you need to register an account with UN CC:e-Learn platform if you don’t have one and then, enrol in the course.
3. Introduction to Green Economy
If we don’t talk about the green economy, how else do we want to achieve sustainable development? In this course, learners would be enlightened on the basic concepts, policy instruments and international frameworks of inclusive green economies.
The course is in five modules which are divided into smaller sections. Depending on your preference, you can start any module first.
After completing the course, learners will be able to:
- Describe the rationale and core concepts for realizing an inclusive green economy against business-as-usual practices
- Identify enabling conditions for greening national economies
- Outline principal opportunities and challenges in key sectors
- Provide examples of national strategies and planning to advance an inclusive green economy
- Distinguish international frameworks and initiatives in support of an inclusive green economy
Course Content
- Understanding where we are – The rationale for advancing an inclusive green economy
- Focusing on the instruments – Enabling conditions for structural change
- Sighting the destination – Key sectors with high greening potential
- Devising a pathway – Strategies and planning for reaching policy objectives
- A helping environment – International frameworks and initiatives to support an inclusive green economy
To earn the certificate, you would need to have a passing grade of 70% or more from the quizzes. You have three attempts for each quiz.
Once you have completed and have passed the quizzes, your Certificate will become automatically available to download under the tap “Certification” on the main course page.
To apply for this course, you need to register an account with UN CC:e-Learn platform if you don’t have one and then, enrol in the course.
This e-course has been developed by the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE).
4. How to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
This course help learners know what has to be done to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the different parties involved.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015, presenting several goals called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) meant to end global poverty and ensure a peaceful and prosperous future for all.
This course covers multiple aspects of the implementation of the SDGs: the stakeholders’ roles, financing, policymaking, and others.
This course is designed for policymakers, sustainable development practitioners, and undergraduate and graduate students interested in issues addressed by the SDGs.
In this course, learners will understand the SDGs: how they were established and how they are meant to be implemented, the social and financial environment that would see to their achievement, and the roles the general public, private sector, and international actors have to play in accomplishing them.
To apply for this course, you need to register an account with UN SDG: Learn online platform if you don’t have one and then, enrol in the course.
5. Introduction to Air Quality Management
The goal of this course is to provide a basic introduction to concepts of air pollution and its management.
In 2015 alone, about 6.5 million people died prematurely due to air pollution with most of these deaths occurring in developing countries.
The World Bank has made moves to tackle this major public health challenge through its Environmental Health and Pollution Management business line one being, the launch of the Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PMEH) multi-donor trust fund,
which would help develop programs to demonstrate how to improve air quality in specific cities, through research to improve our understanding of where air pollution is common and through learning products such as this online course.
This course provides useful information for government environmental officials, World Bank staff across the world, and all stakeholders interested in establishing or improving air quality management practices in low and middle-income country contexts.
As an introductory course, this is intended to provide a survey of various concepts and elements of the AQM planning process. After this course, participants should be able to:
Identify the conditions and/or emission sources that lead to air pollution, its impacts, and the multiple benefits of emission reductions.
Understand the reasons and key elements of AQM programs.
Name common control strategies for various sectors that contribute to air pollution.
Explain the importance of stakeholder engagement, the role of cost-effectiveness analysis, and name different regulatory approaches for implementing emission control strategies (e.g. performance standards, cap-and-trade, incentive, and voluntary programs, etc).
To apply for this course, you need to register an account with UN SDG: Learn online platform and then, enrol in the course.
FAQs
Are there free online environmental courses with certificates?
Yes, there are a few online environmental courses with certificates. Most of these free environmental courses with certificates are given by the United Nations and world environmental bodies.
You could also find more in independent online learning platforms like Coursera and Alison. Others could be from online universities or massive open online courseware from universities.
You can also access paid online environmental courses with certificates and do them for free receiving the certificates from Coursera but, you would have to apply for financial aid that would be approved after 15 days.
Who can Apply for Free Online Courses with Certificates?
Anyone can apply for free online courses with certificates through free online courses with certificates are made majorly for professionals in the environmental field, policymakers, undergraduates, and graduates looking to have an edge in the labour market.
Does Certificates from Online Courses have any Value?
Online courses have a lot of value. Apart from the fact that you get to be taught by professionals from different countries and fields, you get to experience different modes of teaching and different learning environment am from the comfort of your home or your computer.
With online courses, you gain massive knowledge as you can find yourself completing several courses all in a week, imagine the amount of knowledge that you have added to yourself.
And when the online course comes with certification then, by highlighting it in your resume, you are showing employers that you are actively improving yourself making you an applicant with am upper hand.
Certifications help you to get noticed for existing job growth such as salary increases, promotions, and bonus moves.
You could try one today. It will be worth it.
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A passion-driven environmentalist by heart. Lead content writer at EnvironmentGo.
I strive to educate the public about the environment and its problems.
It has always been about nature, we ought to protect not destroy.